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De Blasio talks getting 'out of the bubble,' snaps selfie with press corps

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Mayor Bill de Blasio takes a selfie with the New York City press corps. His spokeswoman Marti Adams posted the image on her Twitter account, @Marti_Adams.
(Bill de Blasio, via spokeswoman Marti Adams' Twitter)

CITY HALL -- It was so nice out Tuesday that Mayor Bill de Blasio opted to run city government outside for a while -- holding a meeting with his counsel outdoors -- before chatting and even snapping a selfie with the press corps.

Some reporters had staked out the mayor as he and his counsel, Maya Wiley, walked back and forth and then around City Hall, taking advantage of temperatures above 60 degrees and perhaps channeling college students who ask professors to have class in the quad on nice days.

On his way back inside, de Blasio sat down on the steps alongside the press corps to shoot the breeze about, well, the pleasant breeze -- and the importance of getting outside and talking to everyday New Yorkers. The mayor said he frequently hears from his neighbors in Park Slope.

"A lot of it is, 'Thank God there's no more snow storms,' and
things like that, and I have to say, a lot of people are very affirming," de
Blasio said.

Many have thanked him for hiring Schools Chancellor Carmen
Farina, or Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, he said.

"Of course you get complaints, too, but it's all part of the
process," de Blasio said.

He'd look to talk with people in other neighborhoods, too,
he said, whether it was while dining out with his wife, Chirlane McCray, or
by taking the time to "get the vibe" of places he visits for events.

"You have to find ways to break out of the bubble," he said.

While many people approach him about issues at his local gym or the coffee shop in Brooklyn, that's less likely to happen when he moves
to Gracie Mansion later this year.

"It becomes even more important when we get to Gracie," he
said, to find ways to talk to New Yorkers.

As de Blasio wrapped up his chat, a reporter asked him if he wanted to take a selfie with the press gathered on the City Hall steps. De Blasio agreed, and a spokeswoman handed the mayor an iPhone.

At first, the mayor asked who would take the photo -- but it was explained to him that for it to be a real selfie, he'd have to take it himself. Reporters, including this one, who had just had their arms outstretched, holding voice recorders, quickly found themselves within the photo.

The mayor and the press have had a sometimes strained relationship since he took office -- he's chided the press for paying attention to sideshows, been late to press conferences, not listed certain events on his schedule, and wouldn't take questions for several days after news coverage of controversies including his motorcade speeding. Just Tuesday, Capital New York ran a story about his fondness for "pooling" the press -- allowing just one reporter to witness an event.

The sunny chat and the selfie had a decidedly nice tone. And it's not the first time the mayor's made nice with a photo -- he previously took a picture with weatherman Al Roker after Roker criticized the mayor on Twitter for keeping schools open.

And while the photo got some attention on Twitter, it's unlikely to perform as well as the selfie Ellen DeGeneres took with celebrities in the audience of the Academy Awards -- which became the most re-Tweeted post on Twitter.